Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 256.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 71,912 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in NiSource by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 608,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,533,000 after acquiring an additional 32,609 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in NiSource by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 315,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,077,000 after acquiring an additional 25,941 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its stake in NiSource by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 33,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $973,000 after acquiring an additional 2,387 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $334,000. Finally, Beck Bode LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 438,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,634,000 after buying an additional 24,465 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. Mizuho started coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America started coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.43.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI opened at $34.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $15.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.64. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.86 and a 1-year high of $34.56.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.28%.

NiSource Company Profile

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.